Editorial: Bonita must be mindful of dog track's potential as rezoning proceeds

It’s long been understood the dog track in Bonita Springs is not long for this world.

The declining popularity and profitability of dog racing was the handwriting on the wall and the owners, the Havenick family of Miami, have been telling us things were bound to change — in a big way.

So, we were somewhat surprised last week to learn of the fairly modest proposal for what comes next — a 30,000 square foot building with poker rooms and a restaurant.

About the same amount of space will be devoted to card games, as is now in use at the track, and the restaurant will be smaller than the one there presently.

In 2012, plans were discussed for a 462,000-square-foot remake of the 99-acre property with retail, office, nightclub and restaurant space.

Of course, that was with the expectation that slot machines would be part of the gambling mix, a big “if” that never came about.

Lee County voters approved the idea of slots in 2012 but the state Legislature didn’t get around to enacting the laws to make it happen.

Still, as recently as a year ago, the track owners were looking at tentative plans to redevelop the property as a sports-entertainment complex that could exist even if Amendment 13 outlawing dog racing passed. Which it did — by a wide margin.

So, what happened?

In a word, zoning.

As it turns out, part of the property is zoned for use as a golf course. That caught even the Havenicks who’ve owned and operated the track since the 1970s, by surprise.

These days in Bonita Springs and elsewhere, golf course zoning and rezoning is no small deal.

The city is more than a year into a moratorium on golf course redevelopment as the council wrestles with how to balance the private property rights of owners, who may be seeking a more productive use of the land, and neighbors, who may have thought they would have fairway views forever.

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A standing-room only crowd packed the City Council chambers on Jan. 8 to weigh in on the topic, so much so that additional meetings in larger rooms are set for Feb. 26 at Bonita Springs High School and Feb. 28 at the fire station on Bonita Grande Drive.

Is the dog track property, which has never been a golf course and probably never will be, subject to the moratorium and any new design standards the city comes up with?

The Havenicks aren’t taking any chances. With dog racing set to end statewide on Dec. 31, 2020 and an even earlier end date of May 2020 planned at the Bonita facility, there’s little time to spare.

They want to have something ready to go the day after the last dog has crossed the last finish line.

Thus, the laser focus on the smaller poker room and restaurant building. Everything else will have to wait.

It is incumbent on the city to do a couple of things. First, come up with its new rules for golf course redevelopment by June, when the current moratorium expires.

Second, bear in mind that whatever plans are devised, they could impact the future of one of the most high-profile and high-potential sites in all the city, namely the dog track.